Type 2 Drug Improves Glucose Metabolization by 41% in Clinical Trial

DM-99, a drug under development by the Canadian drug company DiaMedica, Inc., has just finished a phase 2a “proof of concept” trial with 40 type 2 patients in Europe. Although the company did not release performance figures from the trial, it found them sufficiently encouraging to move further into phase 2 testing.

DM-99 causes tissues to increase the pace at which they take glucose out of the bloodstream. A DiaMedica spokesman said in a press release that DM-99 may both “insulin sensitize and hasten the onset of insulin action.” The results of preclinical testing, announced in early 2008, revealed that DM-99 allowed healthy lab animals to metabolize 41 percent more glucose within an hour of receiving the drug than animals not receiving it.

DiaMedica has a suite of treatments under development for type 2 diabetes, all based on the company’s conviction that a dysfunctional nerve signal to the liver is a key contributor to the insulin resistance that characterizes type 2 diabetes. In addition to DM-99, a sister drug, DM-199, which is 40 times more biologically active than DM-99, is scheduled to undergo preclinical testing soon. The company is also in clinical trials with its lead product, DM-71, which has reportedly reduced A1c’s and weight, and DM-83, which the company believes may prolong the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin.

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